One of the most interesting parts for us was the paper we were given when we entered the exhibit room. Each of us received a slip that had a passengers name, what class they were, and a little history about them and their traveling companions. Some of them had artifacts on display and you could try to find the one that matched your name. At the end of the exhibit there was a big wall board that had a list of survivors and one that had a list of the people who perished so you could see whether the person you got had made it or not.
While we have read a lot of books and newspaper accounts of the tragedy nothing can really prepare you for the feeling you get when you actually get to see the pieces. There were hairbrushes, mirrors, suitcases, hats, jewelry, perfume bottles, and more that were personal effects people traveled with. Then there were the plates, cups, silverware, tea pots, sugar and milk containers, salt and pepper shakers, pieces of wood off the ship, parts of the boilers, and even coal that was recovered. It was so strange to see a whole set of china plates that had been in a cabinet when it sank and when the wood rotted away the plates were left on the ocean floor without a single one being broken. There were stained glass windows that didn't break from the pressure or any of the debris. How did they survive intact when the ship itself, made out of much stronger metal, was violently twisted and ripped into two pieces? I still can't wrap my mind around that. In the exhibit itself they had a room set up to mimic what a passenger on Titanic would have seen had they been outside the night of the sinking. A clear, dark sky with lots of stars and an ocean that seems to go on forever. And, a piece of ice that had been cooled to 24 degrees fahrenheit, which still isn't as cold as the water was. We were allowed to touch it just to get an idea of how cold it would have been in the water that night. I had my hand on it for less than five seconds and it was already so cold that it burned. I am amazed that more passengers didn't die from exposure and I can certainly understand how so many of them only lasted a few minutes.
Unfortunately, cameras weren't allowed into the exhibit so we could only get some from outside but at least we have those for memories!
These were two of the banners up to announce the exhibit
And one whole wall in case you didn't see the banners
Who can forget the shop? We have to have a souvenir
Cerah, waiting patiently for our turn
Morgan looks excited, doesn't she? I love how they made the outside of the exhibit look like the outside of the ship.
They were, of course, nice enough to offer us a couple of photo opps since we couldn't bring our own cameras in. Here's the girls on the "grand staircase" which they actually replicated for people to see.
This was our king of the world chance but I think it's already been played out
Anthony went through the exhibit much faster than us. I like to read everything while he just skims and moves on.
Cerah snapped us waiting to pick up our pictures. I don't know why she likes this picture but she does so I included it.
No comments:
Post a Comment